


Thank you, Steve

by Apricott10



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Blood, Cursing (It’s Dustin), Funerals, Gen, Gun Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt Steve Harrington, If Steve dies so does Stranger Things, Protective Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington’s Death, Steve’s parents are assholes (but they only get one paragraph), This Is Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26841820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apricott10/pseuds/Apricott10
Summary: Steve protects people, it’s just what he does. But you can only throw yourself into the line of fire so many times before it catches up to you.
Relationships: Jonathan Byers & Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington & Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Steve Harrington & Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington & The Party
Comments: 16
Kudos: 74





	Thank you, Steve

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments and appreciate constructive criticism so please leave a comment below telling me what you thought of my work.

========== May 23, 1987 ==========

“Dustin! Go, go, go!” Steve shouted as more gunshots rang loudly through the building. 

Dustin got his feet under him and bolted through the exit door. Steve shot blindly around the corner with the pistol he had managed to get his hands on. He heard one of the guards bodies fall onto the hard floor with a thud. 

Steve made a break for the exit. He was so relieved to see Dustin standing behind a heavy metal crate, still very much alive. Steve’s own relief was mirrored in Dustin’s expression. 

Steve ran towards the parking lot, the only way out from where they were, Dustin running out of his hiding spot and joining Steve. 

“Where do you boys think you’re going?” A man asked menacingly, blocking their path, a shotgun held threateningly in his grip. 

Steve and Dustin skidding to a stop. 

In that moment, time seemed to slow down for Steve, but only one thought went through his head. He had to protect Dustin. 

The man raised his gun as Steve reached for his own, but Steve wasn’t going to be fast enough. The gun was pointed directly at Dustin. Steve only had one choice. 

Steve jerked to the side, slamming harshly into Dustin as the shot echoed through the air. 

Dustin landed heavily on the hard ground, the asphalt scraping his hands and forearms. Dustin whipped around as fast as he could. 

The man seemed to be frozen in shock for a second. He didn’t know why, but it didn’t matter. Dustin scrambled for the pistol that Steve had dropped. He didn’t even think as he stood up and pulled the trigger. 

The man slumped to the ground. dead. 

Dustin stood for a second, breathing hard. Trying to comprehend what had just happened when one name slid into focus. Steve. 

Dustin turned around quickly, almost immediately spotting his friend lying on the ground. Red blooming over his shirt. 

Dustin dropped to his knees next to Steve, immediately trying to stunt the blood flow from Steve’s abdomen. Steve coughed when Dustin applied pressure, blood splattering across his lips. 

Steve was pale, and growing paler by he second. His eyes were open but bleary and unfocused. 

“Shit, shit, shit!” Dustin cursed as more red stained Dustin’s hands. “No, Steve! Shit! Come on man!” Tears blurred Dustin’s vision. 

Steve’s hand came up weakly to rest on top of Dustin’s. Dustin looked at his friend’s, no his brother’s, face. Through his blurry vision, he could see the corners of Steve’s mouth turned up slightly and his eyelids drifting shut. 

“It’s okay, Dustin. It’s okay.” Steve said quietly, but sincerely. 

“No! Steve! please hold on! I’m gonna get you out of here. Please!” Dustin cried, despair clawing at him. 

“It’s okay.” Steve whispered, quieter than before. His eyes fluttered shut and his head lolled to the side. 

“No! Steve! STEVE!” Dustin screamed. Dustin reached for Steve’s wrist. Please have a pulse, please have a pulse, please!

Nothing. Steve’s heart had stopped. 

Sobs wracked Dustin’s body as he pulled his hands away from Steve.

Dustin reached for the walkie-talkie laying on the ground a few feet away. So many of the radios had been destroyed over the last couple days, whose was still operational? Jonathan’s. Jonathan’s still worked. 

“Jonathan? Jonathan, do you copy?” Dustin said into the radio, trying unsuccessfully to keep his voice from cracking. 

“Dustin? I copy. What’s wrong?” Jonathan’s voice replied. 

“S-s-something h-happened.” Dustin sniffed. “S-Steve h-he’s— He’s” 

“Hey Dustin, it’s gonna be okay. I’ll be there as soon as possible.” Was all Jonathan said.

Dustin dropped the radio onto the ground.

“Steve. No, no, no. This isn’t happening. Steve. Please.” Dustin spoke through sobs.

Dustin wasn’t sure how long he sat there crying as his he looked at his best friend’s limp form. Dustin had never really had a father, or an older brother, or any male authority figure to look up to in his life. Steve had filled all those roles for him in his own weird, special way. Steve did everything a dad or an older brother was supposed to do. He drove Dustin to and from school when he wasn’t working. They had movie nights every other weekend where they were often joined by Robin or Max. He would drive Dustin and the other kids to the arcade and then take them out for ice cream after. 

Dustin remembered when he’d caught the flu and had to cancel movie night while his mom was working. Steve had showed up 10 minutes after the phone call and was determined to keep an eye on Dustin until Mrs. Henderson could get home. Steve had kinda been in over his head, but it had meant so much to Dustin at the time. 

Footsteps ran up behind Dustin and a figure kneeled down across Steve’s body from him.

“Hey Steve! Steve! Wake up, man! Come on!” Jonathan’s voice spoke as he searched for a pulse like Dustin had. 

“He’s gone.” Dustin whispered. 

Jonathan looked back and forth between Dustin’s shaking form and Steve’s limp one before ultimately coming to the same horrific conclusion. 

Jonathan fell back on the asphalt. He couldn’t help his own tears that welled in his eyes. His rivalry with Steve was so far in the past now, and Jonathan had honestly grown to like Steve. Hell, Steve had saved his and Nancy’s lives. The past feud seemed so childish and petty now. especially now. 

“Jonathan, do you copy? Steve and Dustin are the only ones unaccounted for.” Robin’s voice spoke through Jonathan’s radio. 

Jonathan picked the radio up off the ground. “I copy. I found them.” 

Jonathan sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes. 

“We should probably take him back to my house. It’s not right to leave him here.” 

Dustin nodded silently. 

Jonathan hooked his arms under Steve’s torso while Dustin got his legs. Eventually the pair got Steve’s limp body into the back of Jonathan’s car. The drive the Byers house was completely silent except for Dustin’s sniffles and quiet sobs. Jonathan gritted his teeth to keep his own tears at bay. 

When they reached the Byers house they silently pulled Steve’s body from the back of the car. Jonathan couldn’t care less about the blood staining the seats. Neither Jonathan nor Dustin knew where they were actually going to put Steve, but they weren’t going to leave him. 

The two boys made it half way before the front door to the Byers house was thrown open. Max was the first one the run out, followed by Nancy and Robin, the rest of the kids, and finally Hopper and Joyce. 

It took the group less than a second to recognize the body lying in Jonathan and Dustin’s arms. 

“Steve!?” Nancy yelled as the she ran off the porch. 

Dustin and Jonathan placed Steve in the grass as gently as they could as the rest of the group approached them. 

Nancy was the first to reach them. She fell on the ground next to Steve, clasping a hand over her mouth as tears fell down her cheeks. 

Jonathan moved to comfort his girlfriend. 

Max and Robin were the next ones there before the rest of the group crowded around. 

Much like Dustin, Max had grown close with Steve. Billy’s death had only made Neil angrier, and subsequently, Max’s home life harder. Max had found comfort in Steve, the older brother she actually deserved. If the fighting at her house ever got too bad, Steve allowed her to sleep in the one of the spare bedrooms in his house, then he’d drive her and Dustin to school the next morning. 

Steve had really become Robin’s best friend in the 2 years that they’d known each other. Because of Steve, Robin had been introduced to a world of monsters, and alternate dimensions, and secret Russian bases, but she’d also found a support system of friends that she’d never quite had before. She was so grateful to Steve for that. 

“What happened?” Will asked quietly, not sure if it was the right time for that question.

Fresh tears spilled down Dustin’s cheeks. “I-it was my f-fault. It was p-pointed at m-me, and S-Steve pushed me o-out of the w-way. It’s my f-fault he’s  
d-dead” 

Dustin ducked his head as he sobbed. 

Mrs. Byers knelt down next to Dustin. “Dustin, this is not your fault.”

“Yeah.” Lucas said. “Think about everything Steve has done over the last 4 years. He protected Jonathan and Nancy. He protected Max and I. He saved Mike. He saved you and Erica. Steve protects people, it’s what he does. We all know that you were Steve’s favorite.” 

Most people gave watery smiles to agree with Lucas. Dustin just sobbed more harshly.

“Oh sweetheart.” Mrs. Byers whispered as she pulled Dustin to her chest. “It’s going to be okay.” 

========== June 14, 1987 ==========

The graveyard was silent except for the priest’s speech that no one was actually listening to. Dustin stared at the polished wooden casket, the numb feeling that had taken over him for the past three weeks was starting to crack. Sadness and grief were clawing at his chest. The thorns of the pale yellow rose he was holding dug painfully into his hands, but it couldn’t bring himself to care.

While many of the guests were together, there were two distinct pairs of outliers.

The first were Steve’s parents. Dustin had never actually met them, but he knew that Steve was not fond of either of them, particularly his father. From what Dustin could tell, it didn’t seem that they had particularly liked him either. Mr. Harrington actually had an air of impatience, as if he had better places to be than at his own son’s funeral. The couple shot judging glances that the group, mainly at Mrs. Byers. Dustin knew that the Harrington’s were, in Steve’s words, “uptight narcissists that think they’re better than everyone else.” but there were better places to express your dislike for someone. 

The other pair was Tommy and Carol. When they had first approached the funeral, Dustin had fought the urge to tell them to fuck off, but a better look at their faces showed that they weren’t there to stir up trouble. While Carol simply had a sad expression, Tommy seemed to be fighting back tears. Tommy held a purple rose in his hand. Both of the teenagers kept sending side glances at the rest of the funeral, usually in the direction of Jonathan and Nancy, but they weren’t hostile glances like Mr. and Mrs. Harrington’s, they were nervous glances, as if they were waiting for someone to tell them to get lost. Dustin realized that although they had a crappy way of showing it, Tommy and Carol had actually cared about Steve. 

The priest finished up his speech. Tommy quickly dropped his rose on top of the casket and left with Carol. Max walked up to drop her rose, followed by Nancy and Mike, then Will and Jonathan, Robin, Lucas, and Eleven. Dustin stalled until everyone had placed theirs and had started to leave. 

Dustin walked up hesitantly and stood at the edge of the gap in the ground. He dropped the rose on top of the casket. Tears welled up and spilled. 

“I’m so sorry, Steve.” He whispered. 

A hand was laid on his shoulder. Dustin turned to look at his mom. Klaudia gave him a sad smile. 

“Come on, let’s go home.” She said quietly. 

Dustin knew she wouldn’t make him leave if he wasn’t ready, but he wasn’t sure he could stand that guilt and despair clawing at him much longer. So he turned and walked with his mom back towards their car, and let the numb feeling come back.

========== November 27, 2006 ==========

Dustin stood in the chilly autumn breeze as he stared that the grey stone. 

It had been nearly a decade since he’d been back in Hawkins. He wasn’t the only one either, after high school many of them had all packed up their stuff and moved all to different places around the country for college and careers. Jonathan and Nancy nor Max and Lucas had stayed together permanently, but Mike and El had gotten married some time ago, and were living in Chicago with their 8 and 5 year old daughters. Both Will and Lucas had ended up in Philadelphia. Max was in San Francisco. Jonathan was making a living as a photographer in New York City. Nancy never really stayed in one place for long, being a traveling reporter, last Dustin had heard she was living in Berlin. 

And Dustin himself? He had gone to MIT for college and had fallen madly in love with a girl, now his wife, and was living in Massachusetts. She was the only reason he was back in Hawkins temporarily. They were driving from Massachusetts to visit his wife’s family in Wisconsin.

His left hand tucked into the pocket of his jacket, while his right held tightly to the nail bat. 

Dustin sighed, and watched his breath fade. “Hey Steve.” He started quietly “I’m sorry it’s been so long. It’s been hard to find time to get back to Hawkins, hope you’re not too offended.” 

He paused considering his next words. 

“I just want to let you know how grateful I was and am for you. Because of what you did I have everything and everyone that I have now. I’m so sorry that it cost you to get me here though. I really miss you, Steve.” 

Dustin sniffed as he turned the nail studded bat in his hand. “I’ve had this thing for nearly 20 years now, I guess it’s about time I gave it back.”

Dustin leaned the bat up against the headstone. “I really hope you can see me, and I hope you’re proud of me.”

“Daddy!” 

Dustin turned just in time to catch the little boy that jumped into his arms. 

“Hey buddy, what’s going on?” Dustin couldn’t help the smile that crawled onto his face. 

“Mommy told me to come make you happy.” The little boy said. “But she won’t tell me why you were sad.” 

Dustin paused, debating how much to tell the boy. 

“Well buddy, when I was young. I lost someone that was really important to me, and I just miss him. But you’ve definitely made me happy.” 

The boy looked up at Dustin wide eyes. “What’s his name?”

“His name was Steve.” 

“Steve?” The boy questioned. “But I’m Steve.”

The boy pouted. Dustin put the boy down on the ground and knelt in front of him. 

“Hey, do you know why you guys have the same name?” 

The boy shook his head exaggeratedly. 

“It’s because you are so, so important to me. And sometimes it’s easier if everyone you love just has the same name.” 

The boy smiled. Dustin kissed the boy on the forehead and stood up fully. He held out his hand for his son to take. 

“Come on, I’m sure mommy is waiting.” Dustin said and Steve grabbed his hand eagerly. 

As the pair walked away from the headstone, Dustin smiled down at his son before looking back into the grave yard. 

“Thank you, Steve.”

**Author's Note:**

> Extra Note: Dustin and Tommy’s Roses. 
> 
> Yellow Roses represent friendship and joy. White roses represent gratefulness and humility. Dustin’s Rose is pale yellow.
> 
> Purple flowers represent guilt and regret. Tommy’s rose is purple.
> 
> ==========
> 
> Ps. Steve and Barb are friends in the afterlife, fight me


End file.
